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T H K 



FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER, 



A PERSONAL NARRATIVE 



WILLIAM A. SPICER 



UEAD BEFORE THE 



RHODE ISLAND SOLDIERS AND SAILORS 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

Febuuaey, 18S4. 



PROVIDENCE 
PRINTED BY THE PROVIDENCE PKESS COMPAVY. 

1885. 






5 1885, /| 






COPYEIGHT, 

1885. 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 



"What's liallowed ground? 'Tis what gives birth 
To sacred thoughts in souls of worth! 

Peace! Independence! Trnthl"— Campbell. 




MMEDIATELY 

upon the election of 
Abraham Lincoln as 
President, in Novem- 
ber, 1860, a prede- 
termined plan of se- 
cession was entered 
upon by the leading 
public men of the 
South, on the plea 
that his election was 
dangerous to the in- 
terests of slavery. 
In February, 1861, 
seven of the slave 
States having united in the movement, an independ- 



6 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

ent government was organized, under the name of 
the Southern Confederacy, and Jefferson Davis was 
inaugurated as President with great pomp, at ]Mont- 
gomery, Ahil)ama ; so that on the fourth of ]March, 
the day of Mr. Lincohi's inauguration at Washington, 
the flag of the United States was flying at only three 
points south of the Capital, viz: Fort Sumter, Fort 
Pickens, and Key West. 

South Carolina naturally led the scheme of dis- 
union, passing the ordinance of secession on the twen- 
tieth of December, 1860, and inniiediately proceed- 
ing to secure possession of the national property in 
the State, particularly the forts in Charleston harbor. 

To prevent this. Major Robert Anderson, an able 
and lo^'al southern ofiicer, commanding a small gar- 
rison of United States troops in Fort Moultrie, has- 
tily removed, on the night of the 26th of December, 
to Fort Sumter, a much stronger but unfinished for- 
tress in the middle of the harbor, hoping to maintain 
his position there till reinforced. But before this 
could be effected by President Lincoln, who had 
plainly advised Governor Pickens of his intention, a 
formal demand for the surrender of the fort was made 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 7 

by General Beauregard, commanding the rebel forces, 
which being promptly refused by Major Anderson, 
the order to reduce the fort was given by the Con- 
federate government. On the morning of Friday, 
the twelfth of April, 1861, at half-past four, the first 
shot was fired upon Fort Sumter, which aroused and 
excited the nation, and begun the war of the Rebel- 
lion. For two days the assault continued, when 
after a most gallant defense by the little garrison of 
eighty men. Major Anderson was compelled to accept 
terms of evacuation. On Sunday afternoon, April 
14th, he marched out of the fort with colors flying 
and drums beating, saluting the United States flag, 
as it was lowered, with fifty guns. 

There was great rejoicing in Charleston. Thou- 
sands had assembled at the Battery, excited specta- 
tors of the scene. They exultingly beheld the ban- 
ner of the Republic lowered, and the flags of South 
Carolina and the Southern Confederacy raised defi- 
antly over the ramparts of Fort Sumter. 

Governor Pickens, the bustling and blustering 
State executive, thus addressed the populace : 



8 THE FLAG BEPLACED ON SUMTER. 

" We are now one of the Confederate States, and they have sent 
us a brave and scientific officer, to whom the credit of this day's 
triumph is due. We have defeated their twenty millions. We 
have humbled the flag of the United States before the Palmetto 
and Confederate, and so long as I have the honor to preside as your 
chief magistrate, so help me God, there is no power on this earth 
shall ever lower from that fortress those flags, unless they be low- 
ered and trailed in a sea of blood. I can here say to you it is the 
first time in the history of this country that the stars and stripes 
have been humbled. That flag has never before been lowered 
before any nation on this earth. But to-day it has been humbled, 
and humbled before the glorious little State of South Carolina." 

But Governor Pickens little dreamed that the dis- 
charge of his guns upon the United States flag at 
Fort Sumter would awaken such an outburst of 
patriotism as immediately followed all over the 
North, uniting the people of all classes in a determi- 
nation to maintain the majesty of the Union, and 
vindicate the honor of the flag. How little he fore- 
saw the mighty sweep and terrible devastation of 
the pitiless storm of civil war which now burst over 
the land, and which never departed from the soil of 
South Carolina till every rebel ensign was " lowered 
and trailed in a sea of blood ;" till slavery, the cause 
of the conflict, was forever abolished, and the power 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 9 

of the United States firmly reestablished on land and 
sea. 

Four years had scarcely passed ere he heard the 
tramp of Sherman's army sweeping victoriously 
across the State, and beheld the once proud and 
haughty Charleston in possession of the Union le- 
gions. As he saw the starry flag again waving aloft 
in triumph, he hastened, with reluctant footsteps, 
to place himself once more under its protecting 
folds, thus renewing, in 1865,, his oath of alle- 
giance to the government whose authority he had 
defied in 1861 ! 

A few months later, at the State Convention 
at Columbia, assembled under the direction of the 
President of the United States, it is none other than 
our reconstructed friend, Ex-Governor Pickens, who 
rises amid the ashes of his once beautiful Capital, and 
offers the following: ordinance : 

"Besolved, We, the delegates of the people of the State of South 
Carolina, in general convention met, do ordain, that the ordinance 
[of secession] passed in convention on the twentieth of December, 
1860, withdrawing this State from the Federal Union, be, and the 
same is, hereby repealed. The fortunes of war, together with the 
proclamation of the President of the United States, and the geuer 



10 THE FLAG HKPLACEI) ON Sl'MTEH. 

ills in the field coniniaiuling, having decided that domestic slaverj' 
is abolished, that therefore, under the circumstances, we acquiesce 
in said proclamations, and do herel)y ordain implicit obedience to 
the Constitution of the United States, and all laws made in pur- 
suance thereof." 

He had thus at last learned the truth of that ancient 
and profound maxim, that " he who would aspire to 
govern,, should first learn to ohetj I'' 

General Sherman did not pause in his rapid march 
northward from Savannah, through the Carolinas, to 
make any demonstration against Charleston ; he 
conquered it, in the words of General Robert Ander- 
son, " by turning his back on it I " His military ope- 
rations compelled the evacuation of the city, which 
was occupied by the Union troops on the eighteenth 
of February, 1865. Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. Ben- 
nett, of the Twenty-first United States colored troops, 
was the first to land with a small force, while some 
of the rebel mounted patrols still remained, apply- 
ing the torch as they retreated. The Colonel at 
once addressed himself to the Mayor : "In the name 
of the United States government I demand a sur- 
render of the city, of which you are the executive 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 11 

officer." The Mayor responded by immediately 
turninof over the Cradle of Rebellion to its riorhtful 
owners. The Colonel then proceeded to the citadel 
with his colored troops, two companies of the Fifty- 
second Pennsylvania Regiment, and about thirty 
men of the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Ames, and proclaimed mar- 
tial law. In his official report he says : "Every offi- 
cer and soldier exerted himself to a most willing 
performance of every allotted duty, yet I do not deem 
it invidious for me to make special mention of Lieu- 
tenant John Hackett, Company M, Third Rhode 
Island Artillery, who volunteered to go alone to 
Fort Moultrie, and there raise the flag." This was 
a most perilous service, gallantly performed amid the 
danger of exploding rebel })owder magazines. 

It was the bejfinnino^ of the end. President Lin- 
es o 

coin, realizing that the fall of the Confederacy was 
near at hand, determined to celebrate the fourth anni- 
versary of the surrender of Fort Sumter by replant- 
ing the old flag of 18(51, with imposing ceremonies, 
upon the ruins of the fort, and the following order 
was aocordinijlv issued: 



12 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

General Orders, No. 50. 

War Department, Adjutant General's Office, ; 
Washington, March 27, 1865. 

Ordered: First, That at the hour of noon, on the 14th daj' of 
April, 1865, brevet Major-General Anderson will raise and plant 
upon the ruins of Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, the same 
United States flag which floated over the battlements of that fort 
during the rebel assault, and which was lowered and saluted by 
him, and the small force of his command, when, the works were 
evacuated on the 14th of April, 1861. 

Second, That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred 
guns from Fort Sumter, and by a national salute from every fort and 
rebel battery that fired upon Fort Sumter. 

Third, That suitable ceremonies be had upon the occasion, under 
the direction of Major-General William T. Sherman, whose military 
operations compelled the rebels to evacuate Charleston, or, in his 
absence, under the charge of Major-General Q. A. Gilmore, com- 
manding the Department. Among the ceremonies will be the 
delivery of an address by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 

Fourth, That the naval forces at Charleston, and their com- 
mander on that station, be invited to participate in the ceremonies 
of the occasion. 
Official. 
By order of the President of the United States. 

Edwin M, Stanton, Secretary of War. 

E. D. Townshend, Assistant Adjutant-General. 

The steamer "Arago" was officially commissioned 
to carry to the fort those who were to take part in 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTEB. 13 

the exercises, and the gratifying announcement was 
afterwards received in Providence that a second 
steamer had been chartered, the "Oceanus," of our 
Neptune Propeller Line, to sail from New York for 
Charleston, on Monday, April 10th, at noon. Imme- 
diately, three Providence boys, two of us comrades 
in the Tenth Rhode Island Regiment, fired with the 
news just received of the fall of Richmond, made our 
plans for going to Charleston on the "Oceanus." We 
so well succeeded that on the morning of the tenth 
we made our appearance on the deck of the steamer, 
duly armed and equipped with the necessary papers 
and outfit. 

There was great enthusiasm on board over the 
news from the seat of war, not only on account of the 
recent capture of Richmond and Petersburg, but 
because, during the night, the news had flashed over 
the wires of the surrender of Lee and the death of the 
Rebellion. We thus became the bearers of these 
glorious tidings to Fort Sumter and Charleston. 

My reception of the news in New York is thus 
described in my diary : "Monday, April 10, Astor 



14 THE FLAG KEPLACED ON SUMTER. 

House. On coming down from my room this morn- 
ino', my attention was arrested by the 'big letters' 
at the head of the column of the morning paper, bear- 
ino" the announcement of the surrender of General 
Lee and his whole army. It was pretty big news 
to take in, and contain myself. Passing into the 
hotel parlors, I noticed that Broadway was gaily 
decorated with flags (though the rain was descend- 
ino- in torrents), and there read in the Herald 
the official documents from General Grant, upon 
which I could hardly refrain from shouting three 
cheers ! I believe I did give one 1 While waiting 
for breakfast I ventured, in the enthusiasm of the 
moment, to seat myself at the piano, and was hard 
at work on about the only patriotic tune I could 
drum, viz : 'Tenting on the old camp ground,' when 
a small boy came up with a message from some nice 
looking young ladies at the opposite end of the 
parlor, requesting 'The Star Spangled Banner,' in 
honor of the glorious news. AYell, I didn't exactly 
fall under the piano ; but briefly conveying regrets 
at my inability to comply, I retired as gracefully as 
possible." 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 



15 



Promptly at noon we waved our adieus from the 
deck of the " Oceanus" to the friends assembled on 
shore, and steamed slowly down the harbor. The 
weather was extremely rainy and foggy, and when 
hardly three hours out, we found ourselves aground 
on Sandy Hook bar. A pilot was signaled, who 
brought the report of a heavy storm outside, and 
after getting us safely off the sand-spit, he advised 
our " laying to " till morning. This was a great dis- 
appointment, as there was no time to lose, and some 
one impatiently asked, " Can't you take us out this 
afternoon, pilot ? " "I reckon I can if you all say so," 
responded the old salt, " but you'd better lay here, 
to-night!" "Why so, pilot?" "You gentlemen 
want to go to Charleston, don't you?" " Why, yes, 
of course." " Wall, then, I tell you, you'd better lay 
here to-night, for it's goin' to be a werry nasty, dirty 
niffht outside." That settled the matter, and down 
went the big anchor of the "Oceanus." 

Having eaten but sparingly daring the day to avoid 
sea-sickness, and fully believing that we were firmly 
anchored for the night, I indulged in a hearty sup- 



16 THE FLAG REPLACED OX SUMTEK. 

per, concluding, as my diary says, "with sardines 
and oranges." I had occasion to feel very sorry 
for this a few hours later. 

A patriotic meeting was held in the cabin during 
the evening. The music and addresses were very 
enjoyable, till suddenly the sound of hurrying feet 
was heard overhead, and the news was whispered 
round that we were "weighing anchor." Soon we 
began to feel the uncomfortable rolling of the steamer. 
The orator who Avas then addressing the meeting, 
and who had waxed eloquent with his subject, now 
provoked considerable merriment by his ungraceful 
and involuntary gestures, clutching desperately at a 
chair, then taking a fresh hold of the table to steady 
himself. It well illustrated Demosthenes' famous 
rule for oratory, "Action! action! action!" But a 
more serious impression quickly prevailed among 
the audience, that it was high time to retire, and, 
like Longfellow's Arabs, they began to "silently 
steal away." The chairman of the meeting, Mayor 
Wood, of Brooklyn, unmindful of his usual decorum, 
upon an extra roll of the steamer went over the back 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 17 

of bis chair, and rolled ingloriously upon the floor. 
He acknowledged that he had never been so com- 
pletely floored in his life. 

There was another portly gentleman who, in 

attempting to navigate, was caught near the cabin 

door, just behind the knees, by a friendly chair, and 

as he was suddenly tilted back into it, remarked 

somewhat dryly, "I believe Fll sit doiviiT' Going 

out on deck, I found that the storm had lifted, the 

lio-hts of Sandy Hook were far astern, and we were 

fairly at sea. From this point of time on Monday 

evening, when we lay on deck, (things were getting 

too unsteady for landsmen to stand,) I omit, out 

of courtesy to ourselves, any further incidents of the 

voyage, and pass on to Thursday morning, which 

found us sitting on the forward deck, waiting and 

watching for the spires of Charleston. The weather 

was delightful. As we passed into the warmer 

southern climate, the sea became calmer and more 

transparent, schools of porpoises played about the 

steamer, and one enthusiastic individual insisted that 

he had seen a whale ! but he was set down by one 

of the disgruntled passengers as "only a pesky oil 



18 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

speculator." The German band on board, or rather 
the brief remnant of it, still kept up what at the dis- 
tance of several yards sounded like very dismal 
music ! Presently some one suggested "lemons and 
lump sugar," as the right remedy for any lingering 
unpleasantness, and we drew lots as to who should 
"go below," combat the smells of the cook-room, and 
purchase them. The announcement that the chance 
had fallen on my old friend and comrade of the 
Tenth Rhode Island, William Vaughan, was greeted 
with roars of laughter. But he got ofi:' very much 
like another fellow described in Pickwick, who 
spelled his name with a "double you" and a "wee," 
by liberally feeing some one else to go in his place. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon came the joy- 
ful shout of "Land-ho ! " which quickly filled the deck 
of the "Oceanus" with a troop of smiling faces. All 
gloom now gave way to sanguine expectation. We 
could plainly distinguish the light-ship, bearing the 
suggestive name, "Rattlesnake Shoals," and knew 
we were at last off Charleston harbor. A pilot was 
presently taken on board, who informed the captain 
that we could not sfo over the bar till sunset. Some 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 19 

one asked him, "Are the people over there in Charles- 
ton loyal now, pilot?" He shook his head gravely, 
and was non-committal. "Well, then, we've come 
down here to make you loyal, pilot !" Turning his 
keen eye, which had peered into many a northeaster 
directly upon his interviewer, the old salt vigorously 
replied, "You can't make me loyal, for I always 
have been !" Noble M^ords and truly spoken, as we 
afterwards found. 

The sun was still shining brightly in the western 
horizon as we weighed anchor, and with colors fly- 
ing and whistle sounding, steamed slowly towards 
the majestic bay which expands its broad bosom 
before the city of Charleston. The pilot, dressed in 
navy blue, stood at the window of the pilot-house, 
ffuidins: the helmsman and announcing the various 
points of historic interest. 

Close at hand two buoys marked the spots where 
the monitors "Keokuk" and " Weehawken" were 
sunk ; and lashed to a mast-head of the latter, still 
visible above the water, was a small American flag 
floating in the breeze. But the attention of all was 
now suddenly arrested by a more imposing display 



20 



THE FLAG llErLACED ON SUMTER. 



in the sky. For high above the city the glorious 
sunset had painted the western heavens with stream- 
ing bars of red and white and bk^e, frinsed with gold. 




It was our banner, stretched out again 1)y a Divine 
hand, over the recovered city ; and all eyes turned 
to behold the sight, as the shout went up, "See, the 
Red, White and Blue ! The Red, White and Blue ! " 



THE FLAG REPLACED OX SUMTER. 23 

Fort Strong, formerly called Fort Wagner, on Mor- 
ris Island, was passed with uncovered heads, in honor 
of Colonel Shaw, who fell gallantly leading his col- 
ored regiment to the assault; then Fort Putnam, 
formerly Battery Gregg, on Cummings' Point, and 
on the right Fort Moultrie and Battery Bee, on Sul- 
livan's Island, were pointed out, till at length the cry 
rang out, "Fort Sumter ! Fort Sumter ! " Battered 
and crumbled almost to shapelessness, it rose before 
us like some vast monster in the centre of the harbor. 
As we drew nearer, we could distinguish the senti- 
nels on the ramparts, whose bayonets glistened in 
the rays of the setting sun. 

For a few moments we contemplated in silence 
the storied fortress, as memories of the long and bit- 
ter struggle here inaugurated passed in quick pro- 
cession before us. But victory had come at last, 
and rebellion had perished. As by a common inspi- 
ration, all hearts and voices united in the grand old 
doxology, 

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow." 
It was our good passport to the city, heard and hon- 
ored at Fort Sumter by the rapid dipping of the 



24 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

colors, while the answering strains of the "Star 
Spangled Banner" echoed and re-echoed o'er the bay. 
Passing rapidly on, we soon arrived within hailing 
distance of our blockading squadron, safely riding at 
anchor. As we gave each ship and gunboat and 
monitor, as we passed, the news of Lee's surrender, a 
scene of the wildest enthusiasm followed, which 
quickly spread throughout the entire fleet. The 
sailor boys in blue crowded to the bulwarks, or 
mounting aloft, manned the yards, climbing even to 
the main-tops, and turning swung their caps and rent 
the air with their shouts. "Hurrah ! hurrah ! Lee 
has surrendered! Lee has surrendered!!" How 
welcome the tidings after their arduous service, 

"Sweet after danger's the close of the war." 

The shades of night were falling thickly about us, 
as we left the fleet astern and came swiftly up to the 
city, which was shrouded in darkness. From the 
midst of a crowd of people gathering on the deck 
ahead of us, a squeaky voice piped out, "What's 
the news?" and a strong voice gave back the an- 
swer : 

" Lee has surrendered with his whole army ! " 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 25 

Again the piping voice : 

" Have you got Lee ? " 

And the reply, with no uncertain sound : 

"Yes, we've got him this time, sure," followed by 
an indescribable medley of southern yelling, cheer- 
ing and dancing. , 

Amid the excitement and enthusiasm, the band of 
the United States steamer "Blackstone" struck up 
the "Star Spangled Banner," to which ours responded 
with "My country, 'tis of thee." Again from the 
"Blackstone," "The Eed, White and Blue," followed 
by the martial notes of "Plail Columbia" from the 
"Oceanus" as she was made fast to the dock. Cap- 
tain Hunt, of General Hatch's staff, came aboard 
promptly, and after exchanging congratulations over 
the great news, tendered us during our stay the 
"freedom of the city." We were not expected to 
avail ourselves of this courtesy till morning ; a few 
of us, however, did get out on southern soil, just to 
stretch ourselves a bit after our long sea-faring, but 
encountering rather a suspicious looking crowd, we 
soon returned on board, to await the morrow, the 
ever-memorable fourteenth of April, 1865. 

3 



26 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

The day dawned at length, mild and verdant with 
the breath of spring, 

"And o'er the bay, 
Slowly, iu all his splendors dight, 
The great sun rises to behold the sight." 

Turning toward the city we could easily distinguish 
the long line of edifices along the Battery, their win- 
dows glittering in the yellow sunshine. Quickly 
dressing, we set forth on a ramble through the de- 
serted metropolis. There was plenty of time, as 
the transports were not to leave for Fort Sumter till 
ten o'clock. Vaughan and I sauntered down East 
Bay street, among the crumbling and deserted ware- 
houses, to the Battery. This was a long and straight 
promenade, with stone pavement, commanding a fine 
prospect of the bay and fortifications. Here, four 
years before, all was activity and bustle ; here the 
populace assembled, and sent up their frenzied 
shouts as the flag of the Republic was lowered, and 
the ensign of Rebellion supplanted it for a season. 

How changed the scene ! The streets were de- 
serted. The crowds were scattered and gone for- 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 27 

ever ! The silence of desolation reigned on every 
hand, disturbed only by the songs of the summer 
birds. Not even a newsboy assailed us with the 
Mercury or Courier, containing an account of the 
latest victory over the Yankees. Here, along the 
Battery, were many of the finest residences, stately 
mansions with broad verandas, which bore the ter- 
rible effects of the long bombardment. Their walls 
were scarred and rent. The roofs were crushed, the 
glass shattered, piles of rubbish and other debris 
encumbered the ground, and the grass was growing 
in the streets. The siege of the city had steadily 
and relentlessly continued for five hundred and eighty- 
eight days. It was commenced on the twenty-first 
of August, 1863, by the opening of the Swamp Angel 
Battery on Morris Island, five miles away. On the 
seventh of September, Fort Wagner and Battery 
Gregg were taken, and more guns were trained upon 
the city (notably the watei' battery), compelling the 
evacuation of the lower part. During the long siege 
not less than thirteen thousand shot and shell were 
thrown into the city. 

We strolled into the orarden of one of the deserted 



28 THE FLAG RErLACED ON SL^ITER. 

mansions, which still exhibited evidences of taste and 
culture, even in neglect and decay. Borders of box 
lined the graveled walks and encircled beautiful 
flower shrubs, or clusters of japonica, of manifold 
hues ; the mock-orange, the lilac and magnolia tree 
were blooming luxuriantly, and grew to a remark- 
able height. What a contrast to the bare gardens 
we had left at home, amid a cold and cheerless storm. 
TVe were now in another zone, in the full bloom of 
summer. After helping ourselves to roses in abun- 
dance, the largest I had ever seen, we passed on up 
the street. Notices like the following were posted 
on the doors of some of the houses : " Occupied by 
permission of the Provost Marshal, the owner having 
taken the oath of alleojiance to the United States." 
Similar cards in the shop windows announced that the 
occupants had permission to transact business. 

A Charleston lady complained to one of our offi- 
cers, saying, "You treat us well enough, but (he 
niggers are dreadful sassy. They don't turn out 
now when you meet them ; they even smoke cigars, 
and go right up to a gentleman and ask him for a 
light ! " 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 



29 



We now 
began to 
meet con- 
trabands 
of all ages 
and of all 
sizes, from 
the little 
b arefooted 
piccanin- 
nies and 
chimney 
sweeps to 
the old, 



gray-haired uncles and tnrbaned aunties. While 
all appeared bubbling over with joy, yet they were 
quiet and orderly, greeting us with bows and cour- 
tesies, and a "God bress ye! we're so powerful 
glad ye've come ! " Said one old negro to another, 
"Yer mus' try now, an' do as yer done by. Uncle 
Rube." "Yeth," said Uncle Reuben, "but de fact 
am dis chile ain't never been done hyl Dat's where 
de shoe pinches ! " 




30 THE FLAG REPLACED OX SLTMTER. 

We took great pleasure in calling w'ith other friends 
upon Colonel Lorenzo Potter, one of the veteran 
Union citizens, formerly of Providence. He had 
been at home only a few weeks, but his family had 
remained through the long and dreary siege. For- 
tunately the shells from the Union batteries had 
spared the home of these devoted loyalists. 

I remember a fine fig-tree in his garden, laden with 
fruit, and my disappointment at finding it in a green 
state, "for the time of figs was not yet." Reluctantly 
leaving this hospitable family, we made a hasty tour 
of several public buildings and banks, which we 
found in a sadly broken and ravaged condition. The 
elaborately carved counters and wainscoting had 
been reduced to fragments ; the tiled floors and fres- 
coed walls wei'e plowed up and ruined by exploding 
shells. In one of the banks I secured a collection 
of both Continental and Confederate notes, the obso- 
lete currency of two centuries. On one of them I 
read this curious endorsement : " Payable two years 
after a treaty of peace between the Confederate and 
United States Governments." But right before me 
lay the effective protest of the Union shot and shell 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 31 

against any treaty of peace with armed rebellion, in 
the shape of an immense pile of debris, — broken 
brick and glass, and charred timbers, the ruins of a 
once fine and imposing structure. I was told of an 
estimable lady of Charleston who, after investing her 
all (fully $5,000) in these Confederate "promises to 
pay," brought them out at last, and kindled her 
morning fire with the worthless chaft'. Most of the 
citizens who were considered wealthy at the begin- 
ning of the war were reduced to penury at its close, 
and were to be seen carrying their rations throuo-h 
the streets of Charleston. 

"General Wade Hampton needs horses," read the 
last order of the Governor to the citizens, on the 
twenty-first of January, 1865, "and I have told him 
he shall have them. Put aside your please-car- 
riages for the time, and bring or send in your horses 
to Columbia. Colonel C. T. Hampton is charged 
by me with the duty of receiving with thanks all 
that will be sent, and of taking a\\ that are withheld. 
The horses will be paid for. No one shall suffer 
from his devotion to the State." 



32 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

The public conveyances kindly placed at our dis- 
posal by the authorities, showed how effectively this 
order had been carried out. Such a sorry looking 
set of horses, mules and donkeys, attached to omni- 
buses, army ambulances and fish- wagons, would 
appropriately have found a place in a Providence 
Antique and Horrible procession ! 

Passing on to the Market Building we stopped to 
chat with the darkey shop-keepers who occupied the 
few stalls which were open. We purchased here 
some sugar-cane and strawberries, the first of the 
season. The darkeys proved to be pretty shrewd 
traders, and promptly declined all ofiers of Confed- 
erate currency in payment. One shook his woolly 
head, saying, "O, sar, we'd better gib um to you, 
sar ! " They had evidently acquired some of the 
sharpness of their old masters, one of whom I read 
about used to make his negroes ivhistle while they 
were picking cherries, for fear they would eat some ! 
But now they could sing their Jubilee hymn, as 
their colored brethren sung it, marching through 
Richmond : 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 33 

" De whip is lost, de han'ciif broken, 
An' massa'l hab to wlnstle for his j^ay; 
He's ole enough, big enough, an' ought to Icuown better 
Dan to went an' run'd away: 

Ole massa run, ha! ha! 

De darkey stay, ho! ho! 

It mus' be now dat de kingdom's cummin', 

An' de year of Jubilo! " 

Some ragged negro boys on the street, who, by 
the way they danced, appeared to have india-rubber 
joints, and who ended their songs with a "shout" 
and a "break-down," were asked if they knew the 
John Brown song. 

"Oh, yeth, massa; we know ole John Brown." 

"Well, give it to us then." 

" John Brown's body lies a mold'ring in de clay. 
But his soul am a marchin' home! " 

" Good ! give us some more ! " 

" We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree. 
On Canaan's happy sho' ! " 

Some of them doubtless still sing the new version, 
believing that Jeff Davis will yet be hung, on Ca- 
naan's happy shore ; and so they are all " bound for 



34 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

the happy land of Canaan ! " It has been stated as 
an indisputable fact^ that some of the older negroes 
having never heard their masters mention the name 
of a Yankee except with a profane accompaniment, 
have been praying for years, "O Lord! bress, we 
beseech Thee, and speedily bring along de comin' of 
de dam Yankees ! " 

Retracing our steps towards the steamer, we met 
our friends coming from various directions. Some 
of them would have passed for returning miners, 
who, in lieu of rich booty, were heavily laden with 
relics of stone, brass and iron. While these Yankee 
relic-hunters failed in getting away with old Fort 
Sumter itself, they successfully carried off two six- 
hundred pound shots from the great English Blakely 
gun, (sent over to the rebels by friends in England.) 
They afterwards presented these to the New York 
and Long Island Historical Societies, as enduring 
evidences of British neutrality during our war. 

My mementoes included several hundred dollars 
ivorth, so to speak, of Confederate currency ; a tile 
from the floor of the State Bank of South Carolina, 
and a Book of Common Prayer picked up among the 




Uiiins of Circular Church. .St. Michael's Church. 

CIIARLEST(JN in IIUINS 



Uuins of Institute Iliill. 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 37 

rubbish in St. Michael's Episcopal Church. The 
floor of the edifice was covered with the shattered 
glass from the windows. A large shell had ploughed 
its way directly through the tower, fragments pass- 
ing through the rear wall of the church, demolish- 
ing the pulpit, and even "breaking the command- 
ments " inscribed on tablets attached to the wall. But 
the iron messenger kindly spared the precepts most 
needed in Charleston, "Thou shalt not kill!" and 
"Thou shalt not steal 1" 

We climbed to the top of the tower of this ancient 
structure, whose chimes had been removed to be 
recast into rebel cannon. I have since heard that a 
new set of chimes now ring out the glad notes of 
Freedom. 

Near by, on the right, were the ruins of Institute 
Hall, where the Ordinance of Secession was passed, 
December 20th, 1860, by more than five hundred 
majority. On the left, the ruins of Circular Church, 
where the first secession sermon was preached. 

But the hour for the grand ceremonial at Sumter 
had now almost arrived. Hastily embarking on the 
transport "Golden Gate," the brilliant pageant in the 
4 



38 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

harbor opened before us. As far as the eye could 
reach, its wateris were thickly crowded with ship- 
ping, gaily decked from bow-sprit to yard-arm and 
top-mast, " with flags and streamers gay, in honor of 
the gala-day ! " While on every ship and transport, 
in every available place, were assembled the expect- 
ant multitude. 

A steamer in the advance suddenly attracted our 
attention, decked with banners and crowded with 
the boys in blue. Can it be? Yes, it is our old 
Rhode Island steamer "Canonicus." Summoned 
at the opening of the war from the peaceful waters of 
Narragansett bay, she had rendered efficient service 
as a government transport, and now at its close had 
been honorably chosen to lead the grand procession 
in the peaceful advance to Fort Sumter. Presently 
the signal was given, the drums were beaten, the 
trumpets sounded, and immediately the "Canonicus"- 
led the proud procession, followed by a long line of 
steamers and transports which gracefully rounded 
into line. Prominent among them was the "Planter," 
commanded by Robert Small, a freedman, who 
shouted his orders from the top of the paddle-box, 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 39 

while all around him, and below, in every nook and 
corner, were crowded the happy contrabands of South 
Carolina, of all ages and sizes, presenting in their 
variety of costumes a most novel and fantastic pic- 
ture. 

It was a proud day for them and for Robert Small, 
who, a few months before, almost unaided and alone, 
had captured the "Planter" from the armed State of 
South Carolina, safely passed the rebel batteries, 
and delivered her a prize to our blockaders. He 
received from the government $4,500, one-half the 
value of the steamer, with a commission of $1,800 
as her commander. He afterwards purchased his old 
master's house and furniture, which set him up as 
immensely rich among his people, who declared him 
to be "de dun smartest cullud man in Souf Cur- 
lina ! " 

As the long procession of steamers and transports 
passed the fleet at anchor, manned and decked most 
gallantly, there was a scene of indescribable enthu- 
siasm ; guns were booming, bands playing triumphal 
marches, bells ringing and whistles sounding, while 
everybody was shouting and cheering at the highest 



40 THE FLAG RErLACEU ON SUMTER. 

pitch of patriotic exultation. This continued una* 
bated till we reached the landing of Fort Sumter. 
Disembarking we passed between two files of sol- 
diers, black men on the right, and white men on 
the left, rivalling each other in soldierly bearing. 
Ascending a flight of fifty steps we reached the para- 
pet of the fort, where we found the Rhode Island 
boys of Company B, Third Artillery, Lieutenant J. 
E. Burroughs commanding, in charge of six pieces 
of artillery. Captain J. M. Barker and his men, of 
Company D, were on duty on Morris Island ; and 
our comrade, Charles H. Williams, with a detach- 
ment of Company B, were on Sullivan's Island, 
in charge of Fort Moultrie and Battery Bee. As 
I stood there on the parapet of Sumter, and looked 
out over the battered and crumbled fortress, I real- 
ized how it had become, even in ruins, well nigh 
impregnable. The upper, or barbette walls, had 
fallen on the outside, and lay packed solidly against 
the lower walls, choking the entrances to the shat- 
tered casemates ; numberless great guns, whose thun- 
der had long been the voice of battle, lay dismounted 
and half buried in the sand, while the immense vol- 



I' 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 41 

ume of shot and shell which had been hurled against 
the fort had served only to solidify and strengthen 
the entire mass. The fort was further protected from 
a scaling party by cheveaux de frise of pointed pick- 
ets, while along the base of the wall, near the water 
line, was a barrier of interlaced wire fence, invisible 
at the distance of a few feet, and which effectively 
resisted the advance of our naval forces on the nisfht 
of September 8, 1863. 

In the interior of the fort, packed tier above tier 
against the walls, were layers of tall wicker baskets 
filled with sand. In the centre stood the new flaof- 
staff, nearly one hundred and fifty feet high, while 
here and there, at considerable intervals, were piled 
pyramids of solid shot. ' 

But the grim aspect of war had been somewhat 
softened by the floral decorations, which, I was 
informed, were the combined taste of six Union ladies 
of Charleston. Near the flag-staff, a graceful arched 
canopy had been erected, draped with the American 
flag, and handsomely trimmed with evergreens and 
myrtle. On the stage beside the speakers' stand, 
was a golden eagle, resting upon a shield of the 



42 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

national colors, and holding in his beak a wreath of 
flowers and evergreen. 

Descending to the interior of the fort, we passed 
from the foot of the wall-steps to the platform 
through a double file of navy boys, in trimmest holi- 
day attire. Here were now assembled the great 
audience of five thousand soldiers, sailors and citi- 
zens, and we joined them in the stirring song of 
"Victory at Last," composed for the occasion by Wil- 
liam B. Bradbury, who was present and led the sing- 
ing. Then followed the old battle song : 

" Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, rally once again. 
Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom." 

The formal exercises were opened with prayer by 
the Kev. Matthias Harris, Chaplain United States 
Army, a venerable man, who had made the prayer 
at the raising of the flag on Fort Sumter, in Decem- 
ber, 1860, when Major Anderson removed his com- 
mand from Fort Moultrie. It was a brief but touch- 
ing invocation for the blessing of God upon the flag 
of the nation, and upon the great occasion. The 
Rev. R. S. Storrs, D. D., of Brooklyn, N. Y., then 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER, 43 

read with the audience, alternately, the one hundred 
and twenty-sixth, forty-seventh, ninety-eighth, and a 
part of the twentieth Psalms. 

Major Anderson's dispatch to the Government, 
April 18, 1861, on steamship "Baltic," off Sandy 
Hook, announcing the fall of Fort Sumter, was then 
read by Brigadier-General E. D. ToAvnshend, Assist- 
ant Adjutant-General United States Army. 

Then came the crowning event of the day, the 
" raising and planting upon the ruins of Fort Sumter 
of the SAME United States flag which floated over the 
battlements of the fort during the rebel assault, April 
14, 1861, by Brevet Major-General Robert Ander- 
son, United States Army." 

Promptly upon the reading of the dispatch. Ser- 
geant Hart (who had gallantly replaced the flag after 
it had been shot away in the first assault) stepped 
forward with the Fort Sumter mail-bag in his hand. 
As he quietly drew forth from its long seclusion the 
same old flag of '61, a wild shout went up, "prolonged 
and loud." It was quickly attached to the halyards 
by three sailors from the fleet, who were in the first 
fight, and crowned with a wreath of evergreen, set 
with clusters of rosebuds and orange blossoms. 



44 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 



All was now ready, and the hour, the moment, for 
which the nation had so long earnestly struggled and 
patiently waited, had come at last ! 

"Though the mills of God grind slowly. 
Yet they grind exceeding small: 
Though with patience He stands waiting, 
With exactness grinds He all! " 




Who of us can 
ever forget that 
memorable hour, or 
the deep and silent 
expectation of the 
great assembly, as 
General Robert An- 
derson, the hero of 
RoBEKT Anbekson. tlic day , stcppcd for- 

ward, and with uncovered head and a voice trem- 
bling with emotion, said : 

"I am here, my friends, my fellow-citizens and fellow-soldiers, to 
perform an act of duty to my country, dear to my heart, and which 
all of you will appreciate and feel. Had I observed the wishes of 
my heart, it should have been done in silence ; but In accordance 
with the request of the Honorable Secretary of War, I make a few 
remarks, as by his order, after four long, long years of war, I 




THE FLAG liKl'J.ACED OX SUMTEH. 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 47 

restore to its proper place this dear flag, wliich floated here during 
peace, before the first act of this cruel rebellion. [Taking the hal- 
yards in his hands, he said :] I thank God that I have lived to see 
this day, and to be here, to perform tliis, perhaps the last act of my 
life, of duty to my country. My heart is filled with gratitude to 
that God who has so signally blessed us, who has given us bless, 
ings beyond measure. May all the nations bless and praise the 
name of the Lord, and all the world proclaim, ' Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' " 

"Amen! amen!" the multitude responded. Then 
the old veteran grasped the halyards with firm and 
steady hand, and 

"Forthwith from the glittering staff unfurled 
The starry banner, wliich full high advanced. 
Shone like a meteor streaming to the wind." 

A loud and prolonged shout, from fort and fleet, 
greeted the old flag as, all tattered with shot and 
shell, it rose above the battlements into its native air. 
The whole audience sprang to their feet. Several 
bands began to play their most inspiring music. 
Men swung their hats and grasped each other by 
the hand ; women and children waved their hand- 
kerchiefs, and many wept for very joy. As it rested 
at length in its old place at the top of the stafi*, and 
waved its victorious folds towards the recovered city, 



48 THE FLAG KEPLACED ON SUMTER. 

which had first disowned it, the enthusiasm became 
tumultuous and overpowering, till at last it found 
relief in the national sons: : 

" Tlie star spangled banner, O long may it wave, 
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave! " 

I can never forget the impression of that glorious 
spectacle, and that song of victory that went up from 
five thousand voices. The colored soldier pacing, 
to and fro, with beating heart and gazing aloft with 
pride upon the "flag of the free hearts' hope and 
home," could now exclaim, "Yes, that is now my 
flag ! and yonder, at Fort Wagner, the colored soldier 
fought and died to restore it. Four years ago, when 
that flag went down, more than four millions of my 
people had no flag ! But to-day it is our flag, and 
our country ! " 

Immediately followed the grand artillery salute to 
the flag ; and I left my seat and climbed the look-out 
high above upon the wall to obtain an unobstructed 
view of the bay. First, the heavy guns of Sumter 
thundered forth their hearty greeting to the flag. 
Then, in loyal and quick response, came the an- 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 49 

swering notes from Fort Moultrie and Morris Island, 
followed by a national salute from every fort and 
rebel battery that had fired upon the flag four years 
before. 

Finally the fleet, with the little monitors, joined 
in the deep harmonies of the grand chorus, till the 
earth trembled with the cannonade, the air grew 
heavy with smoke, and nothing was visible but the 
rapid flashes of the artillery. For a moment it 
seemed as if the assault of '61 was being re-enacted 
before me. But it is safe to add that had this been 
the case, I should hardly have chosen such an ele- 
vated position upon the observatory of the fort. At 
length the roar of cannon ceased, the dense clouds of 
smoke and sand drifted away, and order was re- 
stored. The orator of the day, Rev. Henry Ward 
Beecher, then began his address, of which the open- 
ing and closing sentences were as follows : 

"On this solemn and joyful day, we again lift to the breeze our 
fathers' flag, now, again, the banner of the JJnited States, with the 
fervent prayer that God would crown it with honor, protect it from 
treason, and send it down to our children, with all the blessings of 
civilization, liberty and religion. Terrible in battle, may it be 
beneficent in peace. Happily, no bird or beast of prey has been 
5 



50 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

inscribed upon it. The stars that redeem the night from darkness, 
and the beams of red light that beautify the morning, have been 
united upon its folds. As long as the sun endures, or the stars, 
may it wave over a nation neither enslaved nor enslaving. [Great 
applause.] 

" Once, and but once, has treason dishonored it. In that insane 
hour, when the guiltiest and bloodiest rebellion of time hurled their 
fires upon this fort, you, sir, [turning to General Anderson,] and a 
small, heroic band, stood within these now crumbled walls, and did 
gallant and just battle for the honor and defense of the nation's 
banner. [Applause.] 

" To-day you are returned again. We devoutly join with you in 
thanksgiving to Almighty God, that he has spared 3-our honored 
life, and vouchsafed you the honors of this day. The heavens over 
you are the same ; the same shores ; morning comes, and evening, 
as they did. All else, how changed! What grim batteries crowd 
the burdened shores! What scenes have filled this air, and dis- 
turbed these waters! These shattered heaps of shapeless stone are 
all that is left of Fort Sumter. Desolation broods in yonder sad 
city — solemn retribution hath avenged our dishonored banner 1 
You have come back with honor, who departed hence, four years 
ago, leaving the air sultry with fanaticism. The surging crowds 
that rolled up their frenzied shouts, as the flag came down, are 
dead, or scattered, or silent; and their habitations are desolate. 
Ruin sits in the cradle of treason. Rebellion has perished. But 
there flies the same flag that was insulted. [Great and prolonged 
applause.] With starry eyes it looks all over this bay for that ban- 
ner that supplanted it, and sees it not. [Applause.] You that then, 
for the day, were humbled, are here again, to triumph once and 
forever. [Applause.] In the storm of that assault this glorious 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 51 

ensign was often struck ; but, memorable fact, not one of its stars 
was torn out by shot or sliell. [Applause.] It was a prophecy. It 
said, 'Not one State shall be struck from this nation by treason I' 
The fulfillment is at hand. Lifte'd to the air, to-daj% it proclaims, 
after four j'ears of war, 'Not a State is blotted out I' [Applause.] 
Hail to the flag of our fathers, and our flag ! Glory to the banner 
that has gone through four years black with tempests of war, to 
pilot the nation back to peace without dismemberment! And glory 
be to God, who, above all hosts and banners, hath ordained victory, 
and shall ordain peace! [Applause.] 

" Our nation, under one government, without slavery, has been 
ordained, and shall stand. There can be peace on no other basis. 
Eeverently, piously, in hopeful patriotism, we spread this banner 
on the sky, as of old the bow was planted on the cloud ; and, with 
solemn fervor, beseech God to look upon it, and make it the memo- 
rial of an everlasting covenant and decree, that never again on this 
fair land shall a deluge of blood prevail. [Applause.] 

«*** ***** 

"From this pulpit of broken stone we speak forth our earnest 
greeting to all our land. 

" We offer to the President of these United States our solemn 
congratulations that God has sustained his life and health under 
the unparalleled burdens and sufferings of foyr bloody years, and 
permitted him to behold this auspicious consummation of that 
national unity for which he has waited with so much patience and 
fortitude, and for which he has labored with such disinterested 
wisdom. [Applause.] 

"To the members of the government associated with him in the 
administration of perilous affairs in critical times; to the Senators 
and Representatives of the United States, who have eagerly fash- 



52 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

ioned the instruments by which the popular will might express and 
enforce itself, we tender our grateful thanks. [Applause.] 

"To the officers and men of the Army and Navy, who have so 
faithfully, skillfully, and gloriously upheld their country's author- 
ity, by suffering, labor, and sublime courage, we offer here a tribute 
beyond the compass of words. [Great applause.] 

"Upon these true and faithful citizens, men and women, who 
have borne up with unflinching hope in the darkest hour, and cov- 
ered the land with the labors of love and charity, we invoke the 
divinest blessing of Him whom they have so truly imitated. 
[Applause.] 

"But, chiefly, to Thee, God of our fathers, we render thanksgiv- 
ing and praise for that wondrous Providence that has brought forth 
from such a harvest of war, the seed of so much liberty and peace. 
We invoke peace upon the North. Peace be to the West. Peace 
be upon the South. 

" In the name of God we lift up our banner, and dedicate it to 
Peace, Union and Liberty, now and forever." [Great applause.] 

At the conclusion of the address, the audience 
arose and sang the doxology. An impressive prayer 
followed, with the benediction, by the Eev. Dr. 
Storrs, Jr. Six deafening cheers were then given 
for the old flag replaced on Sumter ; and three 
times three for President Lincoln, General Robert 
Anderson, and our soldiers and sailors. Many of 
us remained to avail ourselves of the opportunity to 
shake hands with the old veteran, and I well remem- 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 53 

ber the exultation with which I walked off with the 
General's autograph. 

We spent an hour in exploring the walls and case- 
ments of the fort and rummaging about for relics. 
It was amusing to see a man who, after selecting a 
twenty-five pound shot for a memento, would carry 
it a short distance, change hands to make it easier, 
and then come to the conclusion that it was foolish 
to lug such a heavy thing around ; or to see another 
person, who had been sweating under the burden 
of a heavy shell, — when suddenly told that it was 
still loaded and liable to go ofi", and take him off with 
it, — quickly turn and lay it down carefully, and 
quietly depart. I satisfied my curiosity with a few 
small grape and canister shot, some fragments of 
exploded shells, and a section of the rebel iron wire 
fence on the outer wall. 

It must have been fully six o'clock when we all 
arrived safely back to the city. At sunset there was 
another grand salute from the fleet, and in the even- 
incr we were summoned on deck to witness the clos- 
ing demonstration of the day. Nothing could bo 
seen in the darkness, till quick, as if by magic, at 



54 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

the signal from the flag-ship of the Admiral, the 
entire harbor for miles around was brilliantly illumi- 
nated. Every vessel and transport and monitor 
•was ablaze with many-colored fires. Each mast and 
sail and rope was aglow with light. From every 
deck came the roar and glare of rockets, darting in 
quick procession to the sky, then turning and 
descending in showers of golden rain. Hundreds of 
lanterns, red, green and white, suspended from the 
rigging, flashed out their starry signals over the bay, 
and were reflected in the waters beneath, while heavy 
clouds of smoke, tinged with golden radiance, rolled 
heavenward like ascending incense, presenting a 
scene of rare enchantment. 

But hark ! another signal gun is heard. Every 
light instantly disappears ! Every sound is hushed ! 
and grim darkness again mantles the waters of the 
bay; and, I was about to add, we were all soon in 
sleep's serene oblivion, but my diary records that at 
nine o'clock p. m. five of us took an impressed car- 
riaofc and started for the Charleston Hotel, to attend 
a reception given by General Gilmore. On our arri- 
val, we made a bargain with our negro driver to wait 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 55 

for US, say half an hour, more or less, and then take 
us over to the Batterj^ to General Hatch's grand 
military ball. But once inside, we became so much 
absorbed, like little Tommy Tucker, in the supper 
and the toasts, that we forgot all about our colored 
driver outside, — just as people do at parties still. 
The followino;' are brief extracts from the remarks of 
two or three of the principal speakers. 

Judge-Advocate Holt, in responding to the toast, 
"General Robert Anderson," said : 

"It is not uncommon for organizations in treason or in crime, 
on a vast scale, to commit mistakes in tlie selection of agents to 
accomplish their work ; and no man in all history committed a 
gi-eater mistake than Floyd, in the selection of General Anderson, 
on the sole ground of his being a southern man, to command Fort 
Sumter. He thought to find in him a tool of treason, but he found 
instead a loyal, fearless, and true man. Those who have led great 
treasonable enterprises, or great crimes, have suffered most from 
mingled rage and angry fear when they discovered such mistakes 
in the selection of their agents, and none suffered more in this 
respect than Secretary Floyd, on hearing of the transfer of the small 
but devoted garrison from Fort Moultrie to the solid walls of Fort 
Sumter. There was one man, still in the service of the govern- 
ment, who was with Floyd, in the Cabinet, at the time, and could 
bear evidence to the rage of the defeated traitor, and that man, with 
giant brain and steadfast heart, has for three years presided at the 
head of the War Department — Edwin M. Stanton." 



56 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

Major-General Abner Doubleday was called out by- 
some remarks referring to the part he took in the 
defense of Fort Sumter, and said : 

" I feel to-day as if I had been present at the birth of a new 
nation. I was most happy to have been present at the impressive 
ceremonies this day, and glad to remember that I dealt some blows 
against secession in the same place four years ago. I never 
doubted then the propriety of our resistance. I felt that the only 
answer to armed treason must come from the mouth of the cannon. 
There is one class of men in that early effort to whom justice has 
not been done. I mean the enlisted men. They were offered every 
inducement to desert,— heavy bribes, and promotion in a new ser- 
vice,— but they refused them all. [Cheers.] They were told that 
there would be no necessity for any fighting; that there would soon 
be peace, as the North could not stand up against them; but all 
their efforts failed, and I give you, ' The remembrance of those 
noble soldiers.' " [Great cheering.] 

But we were particularly interested in General 
Robert Anderson's response to a toast which had been 
assigned to General John A. Dix, who sent the 
famous order to Louisiana, in 1861, "If any man 
attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him 
on the spot ! " 

General Anderson concluded by introducing the 
toast, "Abraham Lincoln," with an eloquent tribute 
of respect and affection. Said he : 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 57 

" I beg you now, that you will join me in drinking the health of 
another man whom we all love to honor,— the man who, when 
elected President of the United States, was compelled to reach the 
seat of government without an escort, but a man who now could 
travel all over our country with millions of hands and hearts to 
sustain him. I give you the good, the great, the honest man, 
Abraham Lincoln." 

How little we dreamed, as the cheers, twice re- 
peated, went around, that at that self-same hour the 
honored President lay prostrate and dying in the 
National Capital from the bullet of an assassin. 

" Thus grief ever treads upon the heels of pleasure " — 
"And all alike await the inevitable hour; 
The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

Having now remained at the hotel over an hour, 
we went out to look after our colored coachman, only 
to find, as we might have expected, that he had given 
us the slip. But we took possession of another car- 
riage that fortunately came up, and, in answer to the 
sable inquiry, "Am Colonel Fuller ready for de 
ball ?" we kindly informed our colored friend that if he 
would take us to the ball, the Colonel would undoubt- 
edly be ready by the time he returned. Thus assured, 
he started off with us over a very dark and rough road. 



58 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

through the burnt district, till we stopped at length 
before a fine old mansion on East Bay street, bril- 
liantly illuminated, from which soUnds of music and 
festivity proceeded. Here, we were told, was the 
scene of another grand ball, given by the Confed- 
erates in honor of the fall of Sumter, just four years 
before. Some of the same negroes who served at 
the first ball, as slaves, now attended the second as 
free and independent waiters. I purchased of one of 
them for a nominal sum quite a collection of Confed- 
erate currency, a Palmetto brass button, and a quaint 
Pompeiian lamp, which are still preserved as me- 
mentoes of the occasion. We were told " dat Massa 
Middleton used to own de place," but, as the darkeys 
sing : 

" He saw a smoke way dowu deribber, 
Where de Lincum gunboats lay, 
He took his hat, an' lef berry sudden. 
An' I 'specs he's run'd away I" 

So the fine estate, with its broad verandas, and 
elegant mirrors and paintings on the walls, all be- 
came, including the darkeys, "contraband of war." 

The next day was Saturday, and it was announced 
that the " Oceanus " would sail at five in the after- 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 



59 



noon. The hour of departure was afterwards post- 
poned to Sunday morning at nine o'clock, by advice 
of the pilot. We visited various points of interest 
on Saturday, including the office of the Charleston 
Mercury, where we secured some interesting papers, 
which are referred to in the Appendix. We also 
saw the slave-marts, where families had so Ions: been 
bought and sold like cattle. I secured a bill of sale 
of a slave who was described as 
"a negro fellow called Simon." 
The seller's name was Mordecai, 
and the buyer of " the sole use of 
Simon forever," was a Mr. Laz- 
arus. 

• During the morning, one of 
our lady passengers was accosted 
by an aged black woman with a 
hen and a bag of eggs, as ^o\-// 
lows: "Missus, I want to gib 
de northern ladies sumthin', but 
I have nuthin' but this yer hen, 
and these yer eggs. Won't you 
take 'em ? " This was too much 




60 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

for the sympathetic nature of Mrs. B , but what 

to do with the hen and her products so far from home, 
was the question. Finally the eggs were taken and 
the hen left. The woman was rewarded and de- 
parted in much delight. On the homeward voyage 
a gentleman proposed to take them up to his coun- 
try seat in New York State, and put them under the 
care of the most motherly hen of his large flock. 
This was done with the following result : 

"June 10, 1865. 
" I am happy to inform you that the Charleston hen has done her 
duty as well as could be expected under the circumstances. The 
eggs were evidently the product of secession times, and stoutly 
resisted all northern influences. But the mother hen dertermined, 
'a la General Grant,' to set it out on this nest 'if it took all sum- 
mer!' A great destruction of capital has been the result, but 
'victory at last' has rewarded her efforts, and she is now followed 
by a train of four bipeds, one black, one white, and two octoroons. 
I have neglected to tell you that the mother hen is black, and stmts 
with pompous pride above her white and octoroon subjects. ' Let 
us have peace.' " 

My record would be incomplete without a brief 
description of the freedmen's meetings on Saturday. 
We found. Citadel square almost impassable with the 
dense crowds of negroes, while hundreds of children 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 61 

were marchinof throuo-h the streets sino-inff "John 
Brown." The principal gathering was in Zion's 
Church, where more than three thousand colored 
people were crowded together. One of the speakers 
from the north, William Lloyd Garrison, the vete- 
ran abolitionist, was surrounded by the freedmen as 
he entered the church, and borne on their shoulders 
amid great enthusiasm to the platform. Then the 
surging multitude sang, with thrilling power and 
effect : 

"Eoll, Jordan, roll, the year of Jubilee;" 

and another song, beginning : 

" Blow, blow your trumpet, Gabriel ! " 

How they all shouted at the first mention of the name 
of Lincoln ! " Spread it abroad," said Hon. Henry 
Wilson, " all over South Carolina, that the black men 
of South Carolina know no master now, and that they 
are slaves no more forever ! [Great cheering.] 
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States 
[tremendous cheering and waving of hats and hand- 
kerchiefs] , with twenty-five millions of freemen by 
his side, and seven hundred thousand bayonets 

6 



62 THE FLAG REPLACED OX SUMTER. 

behind him, has decreed it, and it will stand while 
the world stands, that the black men of South Caro- 
lina can never more be slaves ! [Loud cheers.] 
They have robbed your cradles ; they have sold your 
children ; they have separated husband and wife, 
father and mother and child. [Cries of ' Yes ! yes ! 
yes ! '] They shall separate you no more ! ['Halle- 
lujah ! bress de Lord ! '] The long, dreary night of 
slavery has passed away forever. ['Amen ! amen ! 
amen ! '] Remember that you are now to be obe- 
dient, faithful, true and loyal to your country for- 
evermore ! " [Cheers and cries of ' Yes ! yes I j'es ! '] 
Twenty years have passed since the emancipation 
of this race, and while a great work has been accom- 
plished for their education, aided by the princely 
gifts of such philanthropists as George Peabody and 
John F. Slater, of New England, it is also true that 
much remains to be done. There still appears to 
exist among the ruling class in the south a tendency 
to put barriers in the way of the poor and ignorant 
masses, and hinder them in the exercise of their per- 
sonal and political rights. "This is a white man's 
government," exclaims the solid south to-day, as in 




it(jji/iyUt.i J J A i. H A Setd '] 



"Ole Massa run— ha! ha I 
Dk darkeys stay — ho I HO I" 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 65 

1860. And again let the loyal answer go forth, as 
from the lips of the lamented Lincoln, at Gettysburg, 
twenty years ago, "This is a government of the peo- 
ple, by the people, and for the people, without dis- 
tinction of race or color." The most serious danger 
which threatens our country to-day, is the ignorance 
of the masses, both white and black, north as well as 
south. This class in many States holds the balance 
of power, and has become a most dangerous force in 
the hands of educated but unprincipled leaders. 
The beneficent influences of Christianity and univer- 
sal education are necessary to lift the masses from 
their servile position, and enable them to think and 
vote for themselves. Nor should they be allowed to 
vote until they can read and write. Education and 
suftrage should go hand in hand. 

CONCLUSION. 

On the morning of Sunday, the sixteenth of April, 
1865, the good steamer "Oceanus," gay with crowds 
of passengers, and proudly waving flags and signals, 
steamed slowly down Charleston harbor homeward 
bound. As she passed the fleet, parting salutations 



66 THE FLAG REPLACE© ON SUMTER. 

were exchanged with the monitors, men-of-war, and 
the smaller boats passing to and fro. We turned to 
take a last survey of the city in the distance, the 
forts, and shores thickly studded with now peaceful 
batteries. As we passed abreast of Fort Sumter, 
where, as at Lexington a hundred years ago, "was 
fired the shot heard 'round the world," every head 
was uncovered, while we reverently sang, the band 
accompanying : 

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow," 

followed by the sweet strains of : 

"My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty." 

Immediately the colors on the fort were dipped, 
and the sentinels on the walls waved their adieus with 
caps and bayonets. At length we crossed the bar 
and took leave of the pilot. 

As the shores of South Carolina faded in the dis- 
tance, and the walls of the storied fort sank below the 
gray horizon, we bade farewell to scenes which, how- 
ever changed by the ceaseless march of time, must 
always possess a charm indescribable. Religious ser- 



♦ THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 67 

vices were held in the cabin at eleven o'clock, and 
again during the evening. The sound of merriment 
was hushed, and all seemed to realize that it was the 
Sabbath. Indeed, it was observed by one of the 
speakers, that he had not heard a word of profanity 
or seen any one under the influence of intoxicating 
beverages during the voyage . 

Monday followed without important incident, save 
that at five o'clock in the afternoon we safely rounded 
Cape Hatteras with a gentle reminder of the old 
couplet : 

"If the Bermudas let you pass, 
You must beware of Hatteras ! " 

Tuesday morning, when about thirty miles south 
of Fortress Monroe, and while most of the passen- 
gers were at breakfast, a steamer was observed in the 
distance with her flag at half-mast. Various were 
the conjectures for whom it could be. We had been 
without news from the north for more than a week ; 
what could have happened ? 

Presently a pilot-boat, with her colors also at half- 
mast, appeared within hailing distance. 



68 



TIIK V\.\(i MFA'l.WVA) ON SUMTKR. 




" What's the news?" was eagerly shouted from the 
"Oceanus." 

"The President is dead," 
came faintly back, with 
startling cflect, over the 
water. Immediately the 
breakfast tables were de- 
serted, and the passengers 
gathered in astonished 
groups on deck, exclaiming, 
"It cannot be!" "We do 
not believe it ! " But a 
second pilot-boat could now be seen with her Hag, 
half-hoisted, droo})ing from the halyards. Again the 
earnest inijuiry, " What's the news?" 
"President Lincoln is dead." 
"How did he die?" 
" He was assassinated in Washington." 
Then stout hearts trembled with dismay, and men 
unused to tears turned pale and we})t. As we passed 
vessel after vessel, we ol)tained further particulars of 
the cruel tragedy, and the feeling of gloom and indig- 
nation which prevailed was deep and indescribable. 



AllKAIIAM LlN('()I>N. 



THE FLAO REPLACED ON SUMTER. 09 

Nothing else was thought or talked of, till we arrived 
at the fortress. On landing, I purchased a Rich- 
mond paper, containing a full account of the assassi- 
nation, the murderous attack upon Secretary Seward 
and his sons, with the plot to remove General Grant 
and the entire Cabinet. We found the entrance to 
the fortress draped in mourning, and the saddest 
reminders of all were the portraits of the departed 
President, deeply hung with (U'ape, in the various 
offices. We made but a brief .stay at the s})lendid 
fortress, with its powerful armament, where, a few 
weeks later, Jefferson Davis Avas In-ought and confined 
as a prisoner of war. We could plainly discern " the 
Rip Raps " and Sewall's Point, and the locality was 
pointed out "in the Roads," where the little Monitor 
defeated the Mcrrimac, in 1862, and saved the Union 
fleet. The story of this famous battle, and the rev- 
olution it produced in naval warfare, has been graph- 
ically recited by Comrade F. 1>. Butts. 

But the sad intelligence from the Capital had 
crushed the desire for sight-seeing, and all seemed 
anxious to get home with the least possible delay. 
After taking a supply of coal and water, and landing 



70 THE FLAG REPLACED OX SUMTER. 

four or five blockade-runners who had secreted them- 
selves in our coal-bunkers at Charleston, we were 
agrain "homeward bound." 

Wednesday morning found us well on our voyage 
to New York, with continued pleasant w^eather. At 
half-past ten, the Sumter Club, which had been 
organized, held a meeting, and the rebel flag of Fort 
Moultrie was formally presented to the Club. It Avas 
voted to procure a suita])le gold Ijadge, with Fort 
Sumter engraved upon it, for each member. It 
was further voted that every passenger who sailed 
from New York for Charleston on the "Oceanus" 
should be entitled to membership. 

Appropriate services were held on board at eleven 
o'clock, the hour at which the funeral obsequies of 
the President were })eing solemnized in Washington. 

At three o'clock we were opposite Coney Island, 
and cnterino; the Narrows. After a short detention 
at quarantine, we rapidly passed the light-houses and 
forts and the fleet of shipping, moving and at an- 
chor about the great metropolis, and drew into the 
dock at the foot of Robinson street as the city bells 
struck five. Hasty farewells were exchanged with 



THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 71 

friends on Ijoard, mingled with greetings from friends 
on shore. Making my way with difficulty through 
the crowds of people and among teams, drays and 
carriages, I at length emerged into the streets of 
New York. 

But what a change ! The city was in mourning ! 
Ten days before, every highway and avenue had 
been resplendent with flags and streamers ; and a 
whole city had celebrated with joy and thanksgiv- 
ing the return of peace and the triumph of loyalty 
over armed rebellion. We had sailed to the metrop- 
olis of the south, the Cradle of the Rebellion, and 
found it a city in ruins. There, where the national 
ensign had been first dishonored, we had seen it 
uplifted and restored wnth imposing ceremonies, amid 
the shouts of a race redeemed and set free. To-day 
we had returned to find New York as mournful as 
Charleston. A national calamity had filled the land 
with mourning. From every flag-staft' the " stars 
and stripes," shroudedin black, drooped at half-mast. 
From the houses of rich and poor alike, hung the 
emblems of the universal sorrow. It is estimated that 
not less than five hundred thousand people, the rep- 



72 THE FLAG REPLACED ON SUMTER. 

resentatives of all classes, crowded the entrances to 
the City Hall to take a last look at the familiar fea- 
tures of the beloved President, who had so endeared 
himself to all parties by his patience, wisdom and 
fidelity during his long and difficult term of service. 
Just before the fall of Richmond he uttered those 
ever-memorable words, his fitting epitaph: "With 
malice towards none, with charity for all, with firm- 
ness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, 
let us strive to finish the work we are in, and do all 
which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting 
peace among ourselves and with all nations." His 
work was finished. The nation was reunited, and 
at peace with all the world. As we enjoy to-day 
the blessings of peace and orderly progress let us 
never forget the name of Lincoln. Let us ever 
remember at what a fearful sacrifice of precious blood 
and treasure. Liberty and Union were maintained, 
and "the flag replaced on Sumter." 



VICTORY AT LAST. 

SONG AND CHORUS. 
Wordt ly Mrb. M. A. Kidder, iAwio ly Wu. B. BsADBTntT. 




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hall the day of peace.When our land should be united, And war and strife ebonld cease ; I 
drums are beating fast, And all the boya are coining home. There's victory at last. J 




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2 The heroes who have gained it, 

And lived to see the day, 
We will meet with flying banners 

And honors on the way ; 
And all their sad privations 

Shall to the winds be cast, 
For all the boys are coming home — 

There's victory at last.— Chorus. 



O happy wives and children, 

Liglit up your hearts and homes. 
For see, with martial music, 

"The conquering hero comes," 
With flags and streamers flying, 

While drums are beahng last ; 
For all the boys are coming home — 

There's victory at last.— Chokus. 



Sung at Fort Sumter, April 14, 1865. 
See page 42. 



APPEIIirDIX. 



From the Charleston Mercury of January 19, 1865. 

(A month before the evacuation of the city.) 

Charleston a Saragossa ! 

" The same tenacity and daring wliich has held Charleston and 
the Savannah line for four years, can hold Charleston now, if brought 
to bear upon the emergency. Too long we liave been fighting here, 
around these old walls, to yield them now without a struggle. We 
say, unhesitatingly, to those in authority, there are brave men here, 
who are prepared to make of Charleston a second Saragossa. We 
use no fancy plirase. We mean the exact thing. We mean fight 
the country inch by inch to her outside lines ; and we mean, then, 
fight it inch by inch to the foot of old St. Michael's walls. * * * 
We want no Atlanta, no Savannah business here. * «• * Let 
Charleston be strictly a military camp. The oppoi'tunity is offered 
— let the commanding general make a fight here that will ring round 
the world. We will not fail him. There are men here to do it. 
We have made names historic before. We can do it now. Let us 
strip and enter the arena for life or for death. Will he stand by 
us?" 

From the Charleston Mercury of Febi-nary 10, 18fi5. 
(A week before the evacuation of the city.) 
"Amidst the dark shadows that envelop the destinies Qf the Con- 
federate States at the present moment, we think — we dream per- 
haps, perhaps we imagine — that we see a faint streak of light. 



76 



APPENDIX. 



struggling up across the eastern horizon through the darkness of the 
night. Is it the early messenger of morn ? or is it an aurora of the 
night ? Yet we imagine we see a streak of dawn upon the horizon. 
A new Yankee Congress comes in on the fourth of March next. 
What sort of body is it? Wild lunatics. They come into power 
flushed with success, and are themselves the very dregs of radical- 
ism. Every one of them are drunken mobocrats and bloody Puri- 
tans of the deepest dye. Wliat will they not do and say? Can 
Lincoln control them ? Can Seward control them ? We think not. 
In their very violence and brutality lies our hope. Can Europe 
stand them six months ? We think not. Must not Europe see that 
if they are successful in destroying us, that their own time is not 
far off when they will be swept from off this continent ? Will not 
this coming Yankee Congress force all the world either to cower 
before them, or check them by upholding ks ? We think it must. 
This is a streak of dawn that we imagine we see. Perhaps we are 
only nodding — and only dream. Still we fancy the thing. Let us 
stand to our arms, and watch for tlie morning." 
The morning dawns at length. 

From the Charleston Mercury, February 11, 1865. 

(The last edition pubhshed in the city.) 

To OUR Keadeks. 

" The progress of military events, wliich has occasioned so much 

public and private inconvenience and suffering, has not -spared the 

newspaper interest. Tlie interruption of railroad communication 

between Charleston and the interior, produces a state of affairs 

which compels us, temporarily, to transfer the publication office of 

the Mercury elsewhere ; and to-day's paper will be our last issue, 

for the present, in the city of Charleston." (The editor then moved 

his establishment to Cheraw, S. C, directly in the line of General 

Sherman's advance.) 












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